1 Report for

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Daily Report for Tuesday, March 15, 2016

1 Report for

Tuesday,

March 15, 2015 Esfand 25, 1394

Highlights, Page 2

News Briefs, Page 3

How Khomeini lost the battle, but is winning the war, Page 7

Review of Zarif’s Asian tour: Old continent’s position in Iran’s foreign policy, Page 10

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2 Highlights

 Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, who only entered the fray two months ago, appears set to become an influential and effective figure in Iranian politics. (See Page 7)

 Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif launched his Asian tour on Saturday, March 6, and his trip came as the Old Continent has been a focus of attention for most world countries, especially the United States, since a few years ago. The article comments on the importance of Asia for Iranian foreign policy.

(See Page 10)

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News Briefs

 Rouhani challenges hardliner rhetoric. Hamshahri newspaper reports that President Hassan Rouhani criticized “revolutionary” rhetoric during remarks on March 12. He stated, “The [1979 Islamic] Revolution occurred for morals, national unity, and brotherhood. What use is there in saying, ‘I am a revolutionary’? The revolution means obedience to God. It means that the people feel safe from our actions and words.” Rouhani also stated,

“Unfortunately, some newspapers are just missives of insults. Fearfully and trembling, a person opens the newspaper to see where they have insulted us again. Is this Islam and an Islamic society?” On military involvement in Iraq and Syria: Rouhani defended the presence of Iranian military forces in Iraq and Syria during his remarks. He called terrorist attacks against Shia shrines in Iraq and Syria a “red line” and stated, “The issue is not whether [the shrines] are based in Iraq, Syria, or other countries. We will not tolerate attempts by terrorists to assault the holy shrines of the household [of the Prophet Muhammad] and will stand against them.” Iranian media frequently refers to Iranian casualties in both Iraq and Syria as “defenders of the shrine.”

 Mesbah Yazdi criticizes Rouhani camp as “lower than beasts”. Hard-line conservative news website Raja News reports that Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a hardline senior cleric who lost his seat in the Assembly of Experts elections, criticized President Hassan Rouhani and his supporters during remarks made in the office of former conservative presidential candidate Saeed Jalili on March 12. Mesbah Yazdi stated: “There is a side willing to surrender the values of the country’s 70 to 80 million people to the enemy… It is all in order to sit for a few more days as president. What is lower than this?

…God graced you so that you would not be lower than the cow and the donkey. Those who try to get closer to the enemies so that they smile at them – they are lower than beasts.” The successful implementation of the nuclear agreement is widely seen as supporting Rouhani’s bid for reelection in 2017.

 Rafsanjani: It is possible Khamenei did not get everything he wanted in the elections. Young Journalists Club news agency reports that Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani commented on the election results during a meeting with reformist and moderate politicians on March 12. He asserted that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “satisfied” with the election results and stated, “It is possible that some of the election results were not satisfactory for

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him, but [he is satisfied because] the principles of the elections were observed.”

Rafsanjani added that he hopes for more reformist-moderate victories in the runoff parliamentary elections, scheduled for late April. On Donald Trump:

Rafsanjani contrasted Iranian “unity” with American disunity. He called Donald Trump a “strange person” and added that Trump “did not receive permission [to hold] a rally. In Iran’s elections, however, the people had a good environment.”

 Guardian Council: Final parliamentary election results to be announced by March 20. State-owned newspaper Iran reports that Guardian Council Spokesman Nejatollah Ebrahimian announced that the Guardian Council will

“hopefully” release finalized results for the first round of parliamentary elections by the end of the Iranian year (March 20). He added that the Guardian Council has confirmed approximately 50 of 207 electoral districts as of March 14. Tehran was not among the confirmed districts. Runoff elections, which will fill 69 remaining parliamentary seats, are also scheduled to take place on April 29, according to an Interior Ministry official.

 Rezaei: The reformists lied during the elections. Tasnim News Agency reports that former IRGC Commander and currently Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei pushed back against reformist complaints about mass disqualification in a post on his Instagram account. Rezaei criticized statements that only 30 reformist candidates were approved to run as “treasonous” and stated, “A revolutionary does not commit treason against the people.” Rezaei also reiterated his previous comments on the composition of candidates who were approved to run; he claimed that the “number of reformist candidates was 2.5 times the number of seats in Parliament, three times for Principlists, and two times for independents.”

 41,000 more flights passing through Iranian airspace, compared with last year. During the past eleven months, 286,904 flights have been registered as passing through Iranian airspace, which is 41,000 more than during the same period the year before. According to Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), this type of flights are flights by foreign airlines through the airspace of a country en route to their destinations. Airlines are required to receive necessary permission and authorization from the countries whose airspace they pass through during their flight, and have to pay a certain amount as a fee. Since Iran is located in both the East-West and North-South air corridors, it plays an

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important role in providing the best possible secure routes for flights between the Persian Gulf states to Northern European and North Atlantic countries.

Before June 2015, each day 450 flights on average were registered as passing through Iranian airspace. However, following instability in Ukraine and Iraq, that number has increased by 100%, and currently more than 900 international flights pass through Iranian airspace daily.

 Artists renovate urban spaces. Hamshahri newspaper reports that the Tehran Beautification Organization is hosting the annual Baharestan event, showcasing some of Tehran’s urban arts in springtime. In this event, 486 artists from graphic arts, sculpture, graffiti, and environmental arts are coming together to present their works in Tehran’s public spaces. The Baharestan program (Tehran’s spring urban arts festival) runs every year at the same time as Nowrouz (the Persian New Year), under the slogan of “A New Year, A New Tehran”. It will be held for one month.

 Proof of Iranians’ obedience to Supreme Leader. Kayhan hard-line conservative newspaper reports that in Zabol in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Hojjatoleslam Ali-Akbar Keikha called the elections demonstration of real democracy by Iranians in front of the world, and a proof of Iranians’

obedience of their Supreme Leader. Meanwhile in Zanjan, northwestern Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khatami reiterated the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks and called for retention of the ‘revolutionary spirit’ in the Assembly of Experts. In Yazd, Friday prayers leader also hailed the 62% turnout. Ayatollah Naseri also called for an end to the campaign mood and called for the winners to focus on enhancing the state of economy, religious affairs and culture. “Even in countries claiming democracy, such as the US, we don’t see this level of participation” said Ayatollah Tabatabaeinejad, Friday prayers’ leader of Isfahan. “Iranians attend the elections quite voluntarily.”

 ‘Resistance Economy’. Jomhouri Islami conservative newspaper reports that in Shahr-e Kord, center of Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari Province, Friday prayers’ leader Nekounam called for further attention to ‘Resistance Economy’, Ayatollah Khamenei’s economic prescription for Iran. Demanding further exploitation of domestic potentials, Nekounam pointed to ‘the enemy’s’ plans to press Iran under the excuse of development of nuclear weapons through economic sanctions, and prevention of Iran’s access to defensive weapons.

Also in Mashhad Ahmad Alamolhoda called for government’s further attention

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to Resistance Economy. Citing the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Alamolhoda called resistance economy Iran’s only “bunker” in war against Imperialism. He also asked the government to clarify the relation between its international trade agreements and resistance economy.

 Iran rejects media report on anti-Saudi remarks attributed to IRGC commander. State-owned newspaper Iran reports that Iran’s Interest Section in Egypt dismissed as “false” the claims made by an Egyptian newspaper which has attributed anti-Saudi remarks to Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari. The Egyptian newspaper Al-Watan, in an article titled “Iran: Saudi Arabia is our enemy, not Israel”, has attributed some anti-Saudi remarks to Major General Jafari. “The title, content and conclusion of the article have been written based on changes to the reality, references to some unprofessional news reports and false attributions to the Iranian official,” Iran’s Interest Section said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the move was against the professional norms of media. Tehran’s principled policy about the nature of Israeli occupation and its state-sponsored terrorism as well as Iran’s all-out supports for the holy cause of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is clear to everyone in the region and the world, the statement read. In conclusion, the interest section called on the Egyptian newspaper to publish the above statement and act in line with media regulations and public enlightenment.

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7 How Khomeini lost the battle,

but is winning the war

The past weeks have been pleasant for Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, in contrast to the bitter days that followed his disqualification from the Assembly of Experts elections.

Khomeini is a grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, and according to some, quite similar to late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The initial announcement of his candidacy found a warm response by moderates and Reformists, even as few expected Khomeini to step forward. It was the first time since the demise of Ayatollah Khomeini that his family would participate in politics.

Prior to his candidacy, Hassan Khomeini had always avoided running in elections and rarely discussed politics in public. He spent most of his time in the holy city of Qom doing research and teaching at the seminary.

The Guardian Council, headed by conservative Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, barred Khomeini from competing in the Feb. 26 election. When Khomeini objected and asked that the decision be reviewed, he was disqualified once again. Khomeini appeared unsurprised. “I strongly believe that there is no unclear point about me, as I’m not an unknown person to the Guardian Council members, [in which case] they would need to investigate my identity. My perception is that my complaint won’t lead anywhere,” he said before appealing the Guardian Council’s initial disqualification.

In the Guardian Council’s telling, Khomeini was barred from running due to a lack of adequate clerical knowledge. This reasoning shocked Khomeini’s supporters, as he has been teaching at the highest level in Qom for the past six years. In this vein, it should be noted that several prominent grand ayatollahs, including Hussain Vahid Khorasani, Mousa Shobeiri Zanjani and Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili, had approved of Khomeini’s clerical knowledge prior to the Guardian Council’s announcement. Meanwhile, a 25-year old cleric’s candidacy was approved, raising questions about possible political dimensions to Khomeini’s disqualification.

The Guardian Council was faced with criticism by many grand ayatollahs and old revolutionaries. Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was one of the first to seriously attack the body, saying, “You didn’t give a good gift to [Ayatollah Ruhollah

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Khomeini’s] family ahead of the elections. … Who has qualified you? Who has given you permission to judge the candidates?” He decried the council’s indifference to the grand ayatollahs’ backing of Khomeini.

Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Abbas Mahfouzi said in favor of Khomeini, “Everyone must be held accountable for their actions on Judgment Day.” Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani recited a Quranic verse (2:216): “Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.”

According to Seyyed Seraj Mousavi, a researcher in Qom, Khomeini’s disqualification ran contrary to the law, as his candidacy wasn’t considered by all members of the Guardian Council.

It should be noted that Khomeini was not the only grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic to be disqualified. Morteza Eshraghi was also barred from running in the parallel parliamentary elections, in which he was predicted to attract many votes.

Despite the disqualification, Khomeini did not get upset, as he focused on a much bigger picture: the victories of other moderate candidates. Indeed, a few days before the Feb. 26 polls, Khomeini asked his supporters to look ahead, saying, “You should forget complaints. … We shouldn’t avoid the ballot box. … Everyone should choose the best and most deserving candidates.”

Now, with the overwhelming victory of moderates in both the Assembly of Experts and the parliamentary elections, Khomeini appears to be optimistic. Two weeks after the elections, he said, “My presence is not important. We shouldn’t forget our cause by focusing on our personal issues.”

Ironically, displeasure with Khomeini’s disqualification may have been one of the things that persuaded many of those who usually abstain from voting to cast their ballots in favor of moderate and Reformist candidates. There were 55,000 ballots cast in favor of the disqualified Khomeini in the southern city of Bushehr.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Reformist political analyst Mohammad Javad Haghshenas said, “I think the mass disqualification of candidates including popular figures like Ayatollah Khomeini made people upset.” Nonetheless, it seems that

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Khomeini’s failed candidacy turned out to be a win for him. Of course, if he had been approved to run, based on polls, he would have gotten the highest number of votes in Tehran and could thus have played an important role along with Rafsanjani and President Hassan Rouhani in the Assembly of Experts.

Meanwhile, though barred from running, his popularity has surged. His influence among the grand ayatollahs and politicians appears to have increased.

Saeed Laylaz, a leading political analyst, told Al-Monitor, “Khomeini is not power hungry and wasn’t looking for a win-win game, but developments occurred to his benefit. I believe the win-win result was achieved due to his position. His family tree, education and his connection with the youth make him a distinguished man. I’m certain that he is one of the most popular figures in Iranian politics.”

Some may suppose that Khomeini is now considered the next leader of the increasingly popular “moderation” camp, but that idea may not be entirely accurate.

While he is becoming a potential national game changer, he has always refrained from siding with any specific faction. Indeed, upon registering as a candidate, he announced that he intended to run as an independent.

In Khomeini’s telling, his aim is to prevent hard-liners from appropriating his grandfather’s legacy, as radicals are attempting to attribute hard-line views to the late ayatollah. “Protecting the imam is costly,” said Khomeini in response to complaints about his disqualification.

According to Laylaz, “No one in Iran has Hassan Khomeini’s position in politics, which is due to his family tree. We can’t consider him the leader of the moderates after Rafsanjani, because he is more than that — he is a national and a bipartisan figure, and has attempted to protect this status.”

In the years ahead, Khomeini, who only directly entered the game two months ago, appears set to become a much more influential, effective and decisive figure in Iranian politics.

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1 0 Review of Zarif’s Asian tour: Old

continent’s position in Iran’s foreign policy

Mehr News Agency. Abdolhamid Bayati. Dated March 12, 2016: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif launched his Asian tour on Saturday, March 6, and his trip came as the Old Continent has been a focus of attention for most world countries, especially the United States, since a few years ago. Zarif’s trip started with a visit to Indonesia to take part in the summit meeting of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the issue of Palestine, after which the next legs of his tour took him to Singapore, Brunei and Thailand. When in Thailand, Zarif took part in the meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) assembly on the sidelines of which Iran’s foreign minister held bilateral meetings with other countries’ officials, including with his Thai counterpart. He then flew to Oceania, including New Zealand and Australia. Major international issues as well as issues of bilateral interest in economic and political fields in addition to the situation of Iranians living in those countries were discussed by Zarif during his 11-day tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Importance of Asia

The trend of developments in Asia and its future prospects have been among major topics for debate in international politics during past years. The US National Security Agency (NSA) has predicted in one of its recent reports that Washington will lose its position as a superpower by 2030, but no other country, including China, would turn into a hegemonic power either. Based on this report, the power will switch to multipolar global networks and coalitions.

The report has also noted that by 2030, our current world will basically change, so that by 2030 no country, including the United States, China or any other country would be considered as a major hegemonic power.

The findings of the report show that by 2030, the most important factor will be empowerment of individuals and redistribution of power from countries to unofficial networks. Such developments will be the reverse of what has happened during historical rise of the West since 1750 up to the present time and will lead to renewed

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importance of Asia in global economy. These changes will also bring with them a new era of “democratization” both at domestic level of countries and at international level.

The rise of Asia in recent years, which has been mostly due to high economic potentials of countries in this continent, has caused all those countries to adopt economy-based policies. As a result, most of Asian countries have been trying to get rid of ethnic, cultural, historical and even border disputes with one another.

One of the most important reasons for increased attention to Asia is that development resources in Europe have been stretched to their limits in the present century. On the contrary, Asia still abounds with resources for economic growth and development, which can be useful to the entire world, so that, at present, Asia contains about 75 percent of all international resources. These resources are very diverse and in addition to rich oil and gas reserves, include mineral resources and huge workforce both in terms of quality and quantity.

In addition to economic issues, geopolitical and security factors have played a great role in the emergence and alteration of the Asian identity. When introducing various regions of Asia and the entire continent in general, geopolitical viewpoints stemming from the interests of big powers governed the way such introduction was done in the past. Although there is still no consensus about geopolitical borders of Asia, some sort of integrity is seen in some regions, like East Asia, due to historical and geographical ties among countries in that region. Also, due to proximity of this region with the Pacific, it is usually called the “Asia – Pacific” region.

Common goal

As said before, Asia enjoys special importance in the world today and that importance will grow up to 2030. This is why the United States has based its main strategy on Asia since 2011 and in doing so has expanded its relations with such countries as Japan, South Korea, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. The United States has been even taking advantage of Sinophobia project in order to encourage these countries develop their ties with Washington and US President Barack Obama made a nine-day trip to Asian countries last year.

In addition to the United States, Russia has been also trying to boost its presence in Asia and has been trying to keep up its rivalry with the United States in this part of the world. Under such circumstances, it goes without saying that Iran, in view of its

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economic plans and capacities that it possesses, will pay special attention to Asian countries.

Apart from that, Iran has many religious and cultural commonalities with some Asia countries on the basis of which it can greatly boost its ties with those countries and in view of its capacities, can even emerge as a rival for the United States and Russia.

Energy and Iran’s importance

East Asian countries including China, Japan, and South Korea, in addition to India in South Asia, are among countries with high energy demand and they import Iran’s crude oil to supply part of their needed energy.

In addition, due to its special geographical situation, Iran can act as a link connecting Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia to the Middle East. It is evident that every one of these secondary regions has its own remarkable economic priorities, which on the whole, provide necessary ground for extended cooperation among all Asian countries.

People in this region not only have many historical or cultural and civilizational commonalities, but their fates are also intermingled. Within this framework, security of Asian energy, as one of the most basic pillars of Asian development, is among major fields where Iran can play a role. Having huge oil and gas reserves in the world and with long experience in the field of energy in addition to having a very good geographical position in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, and due to its neighborhood with Central Asia, Iran is able to connect the energy reserves located in south, east and northeast of the country to Asian consumers through pipeline.

Mutual needs

As said before, Iran needs to cooperate with other countries in order to achieve its economic growth target, and to do so, Asia is the continent that has many opportunities, which can play a great role in helping Iran in this regard. On the other hand, in addition to energy, Iran offers many unique opportunities as a result of which growing Asian countries have a special view to Iran. Therefore, creating a link between such mutual needs will not only boost security in Asia, but will be also beneficial to both sides in economic terms.